1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a control system for cooking of a comestible and, in particular, to a method and system for controlling cooking in a microwave oven.
2. Brief Statement of the Prior Art
The cooking of comestibles such as meats and the like has never been precisely controlled. Conventionally heated ovens have employed timing mechanisms to control the oven or indicate to the cook an approximation of the cooked condition of the comestible. This crude method of control, while marginally acceptable for conventional cooking, is entirely unsuitable for the more efficient and rapid microwave cooking.
Prior investigators have recognized the unsuitability of timer controls for microwave ovens and have attempted to employ temperature probes for monitoring the temperature of the comestible during the cooking process. One commercial unit employs a temperature probe on an umbilical cord which can be connected to suitable oven controls and/or temperature display panels.
Unfortunately, temperature probes in a comestible such as meat and the like, often do not reflect the true temperature of the meat and can result in improperly cooked products when employed in a control system for the oven. A typical comestible such as meat and the like does not heat uniformly when exposed to microwave energy; typically fat and bony tissue will heat more rapidly than other portions of the meat. When the temperature probe is inserted in the meat, the probe will read anomalous temperatures caused, in part, by the nonuniform response of the meat to the cooking process.
The nonuniformity in response of the comestible to the cooking process also can cause overshooting or overcooking of the comestible if the cooking process is conducted with high power applications during the final stages of cooking when the temperature of the comestible is close to the desired final temperature.